Ephesians 3:16; That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.

Oh I’m so excited! Isn’t this exciting? I love looking at what’s underneath in the heart of a verse.

The last 3 verses we’ve talked about Paul’s sacrifice, his heart and why he bowed his knees. (Which is a figure of speech I learned about yesterday after I wrote the blog) The last 3 chapters we’ve discovered Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and God’s plan, what all he got for us. Now we’re getting to the point of it all.

First look at that word “might”, this is the Greek word, dynamis, pronounced, dü’-nä-mēs. We get our English word dynamite from it. Unlit dynamite has no power only, potential power. IF lit it is dangerous. Dynamis is potential, or latent power. Just by being what it is “dynamis” or might in this case, it is inherently powerful. What has this power?

God’s Spirit Strengthened In You!

Do you see how I dissected that? I let the verse explain itself. If we were to go back to the context it emphasises this point as well. Paul reveals the mystery, which is Christ in you, that anointing in you.

Here’s an everyday example:

I have a set of weights. I can do whatever I want with them, they’re mine. I can draw pictures of them, sing to them, worship them, email my friends all about them, dress them up for Halloween….etc. But are they going to make me any stronger by these activities?

They have dynamis. Potential power. Only after I start lifting them, and being consistent will I get strong? YES! Our physical sweat = physical strength.

The phrase “he would grant” in the verse above is one Greek word, didōmi. This is a verb form to say, paying someone obligatory wages or commission for a task. What do you get paid in when you work out? More muscle, which translates into strength. God keeps the purse strings on spiritual strength so he would be the one to give that out. Our spiritual sweat = spiritual strength. Okay, Terri, how do you strengthen your inner man or your spirit??

1 Corinthians 14:4; He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth (Greek oikodomeō = grows, strengthens, builds up) himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

Jude 20: But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the holy spirit. (speaking in tongues)

Ephesians 3:16; That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man.

The next verse is very important!

1 Corinthians 14: 39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.

I’m very excited that God gave us a way to out-smart and out-run our enemy. An enemy who wouldn’t want you to learn this stuff because it defeats him. If you have questions and want to learn how to speak in tongues, feel free to contact me at Terri@TerriPorta.com. Here are some tips: You move your lips, throat, tongue and mouth. You start when you want, and end when you want. It is the language of men or angels as it says in 1 Corinthians 13:1. You won’t understand what the words are that is why it’s called an unknown tongue.

When we speak with tongues much we strengthen our inner man, we also magnify God. There are 10 other benefits as well.

This is the heart behind the Mystery because God wants strong kids.

Strong kids stand strong for God, they defeat the devil, discern truth from error, and most importantly show others how to be strong too. God gave us an easy, unbreakable way to get strong. Don’t let anyone or anything talk you out of the Word. That is where we stand as believers, if someone takes it, what do you have? Error.

Great leaders lead others to their own greatness and strength. Go be strong in the Lord today!

1 Thessalonians 2:13; For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received [it] not [as] the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

This is an amazing verse! From its English translation, we are inspired, and empowered. But from the Greek language, and the understanding from the different words used for the word “received”, we understand why Paul was so excited for the Thessalonians.

There are different root words for “recieve” like so many other words in the Greek, that have different meanings.

There is “dechomai” which means “to received from God spiritually within one’s self.”

Examples of Dechomai;

1 Corinthians 2:14; But the natural man receiveth (dechomai= from God within himself) not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.

2 Corinthians 8:4; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive(dechomai= received from God spiritually within one’s self)the gift, and [take upon us] the fellowship of the ministering to the saints

“Lambano” is the second Greek word for received that I’d like to go over. Lambano means to receive outwardly into manifestation.

Examples of Lambano;

Acts 2:33,38; Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received (lambano= outwardly manifesting) of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive (lambano= outwardly manifest) the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 8:15,17,19; 15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive (lambano- outwardly manifesting) the Holy Ghost: 17)Then laid they [their] hands on them, and they received (lambano= began outwardly manifesting) the Holy Ghost. 19) Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive (lambano= outwardly manifest) the Holy Ghost.

Our verse today holds both of the words for received in it. If you can imagine someone giving you a gift of gasoline, dechomai is receiving it without using it. Lambano would be compared to receiving it, then using it to drive your car. Read our verse again.

1 Thessalonians 2:13; For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received ((para)lambano) ( the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received (dechomai) [it] not [as] the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

The Thessalonians didn’t just get born again, dechomai, receive into oneself, they lambano manifested outwardly that gift that they received.

1 Corinthians 2:12; Now we have received (lambano), not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

This is a big deal! We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual principalities. How else can we fight spiritually if we do not understand how to manifest the spiritual gift outwardly? That is why God gave it to us. So that we could defend ourselves. It is not just to receive for our own benefit it is a weapon of mass blessing and protection.

1 John 3:1; Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Here are 3 of 9 manifestations that fight the Devil’s agenda.

A healing is fighting against the devil’s plans is it not? The devil wishes your health stolen from you. 3 John 2.

A miracle is fighting against the devil’s plans– he wishes for you to be killed. (ie…hurricanes redirected, car accident averted)

Faith or believing is fighting against the devils plans–he wishes you destroyed. (Motivation, joy, peace of mind, etc.) John 10:10 The thief has come to steal, kill, and destroy.

All nine of the outward manifestations (lambano) of this amazing gift of holy spirit wrestle spiritually with the Devil’s agendas. Why do you think he (the devil) tries so hard to keep them quiet, or to steal the seed of learning from your heart on these subjects?

I’m so glad you joined me today. We will delve deeper and deeper into this subject as Thessalonians takes us.

God bless you today!

Would you like to know more about these 9 Devil derailing manifestations? Click here, and here.

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Today I realized that I ended the class and daily devotion in Ephesians without recognizing my co-travelers! Can you believe that? I would like to give you a warm thank you and offer a very special gift.

For journeying through Ephesians with me you get a free “5 Basics for Growth, The High Octane Christian Series,” work book. See above video.

These books are being used in Supporting Godly Women meetings for a Bible study and many others have used it in their own private studies. This is the newest professionally copied and bound version. It details all the 5 daily core steps of a believer’s (male or female) growth in their spiritual walk and includes work book questions and answer session at the end of the chapters for further refinement.

The list of Ephesians class graduates and book recipients will come straight from SGW’ssubscribed email followers.This sign up is on the home page of Supporting Godly Women’s site. If you have followed Ephesians through with us, but aren’t subscribed to the daily blog posts via email, do so today to also get in on this FREE offer. Tomorrow morning, Friday Feb. 3rd, 2012, a private email directly from me, Terri Porta, will arrive in your inbox. That email will detail how you need to proceed. (I will need a physical address from you. So I can send it out. ;)) This is my gift to you. There are no catches, scams, or hookey pook. I simply want to thank you.

God Bless You! And have a wonderful day!

P.S. Here is the very first post in Ephesians if you’d like to go back and refresh or start over. There are 143 Ephesians study posts.

Ephesians 6:19-24; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But that ye also may know my affairs, [and] how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and [that] he might comfort your hearts. Peace [be] to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace [be] with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

This is Paul’s wonderful final request to his brethren in Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus (or us). The first verse is a continuation of 18; in that he is asking for prayer. At this point, Paul is in prison in Rome for two years. Speaking the Word got him in there, yet here he is asking for boldness to speak more. What a heart! He wrote four of the epistles there; Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. It was a quiet time of reflection for him and heaven knows every writer needs a little of that. These epistles are true treasures of the Word.

It was the beginning of a turbulent time in history. God spread the hope, despite the government’s attempts to squelch it, one faithful heart at a time and one rightly divided truth at a time. Hope and freedom spread rampantly. This world was never the same again. Touched forever by love, men claimed a life made free by salvation. But the Devil wouldn’t go down without a fight. Since then, this planet has seen cataclysmic disasters, racial tension, famine, corruptions, war, communism, and tyranny. There were diseases that killed thousands and spread across oceans to kill thousands more. Earthquakes cracked the planet’s crust, volcanos– some believe even super volcanos– changed its face. Governments expanded their territories with greedy, power-hungry men then died, eaten from the inside out by their own corruption. Yet through all this darkness God protected the Bible and these precious words of Paul’s.

Two hundred and twenty-nine years ago this continent, and the world, witnessed the rise and expansion of a country based on principles in the Bible. Imprisonment or death because of our beliefs are no longer a fear here. We express them freely in this great nation. Due to that freedom this nation rose from the ashes around it as a beacon of hope to this tattered and war-scarred world. Hundreds of thousands have died to protect these freedoms, millions worked to get in and make them their own. Yet corruption still reaches out and touches this land with the pain of slavery, war, and death. Its bloodied soil cries out boldly for the freedoms written in God’s Word, and its hope drops anchor in the harbor of our souls. Its love wails in the night as a every new baby is born–free. Our freedoms and the truth they were founded on, was rent from the clenching fist of control Satan has on this world. God’s age-old battle to free men’s hearts still wages on. The systematizing of error still whittle away the rightly divided truth from our churches, schools, homes, and hearts.

Stand Tall with God

Matthew 16:18; And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (petros= a small pebble), and upon this rock (Jesus Christ, petra= foundational stone) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Look into the greatness of the book of Ephesians and the truth of the ages. Protect the accuracy of the Word sown in your heart and let it bloom where it is planted inside you.

Written above are Paul’s last words in Ephesians, but fellow believers– they live on in our hearts and lives today. Pour your heart into that which God protected all these ages. Cultivate the Word in your heart then let it rise and expand in you.

It is my hope that you have enjoyed this journey through Ephesians as much as I have. I can sincerely say–I will never be the same again.

God bless you and yours today! Remember this is only the first day of the rest of eternity together.

Ephesians 6:18; Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

This verse is the end of the thoughts from last week’s tremendous message and the beginning to the final goodbyes to Paul’s fellow workers in Christ. It is the last thing he asks us to do, because in the next verse we can’t pray for his boldness he died a long time ago. (Though, I will get to that verse tomorrow.) This is the last verse in the “stand” section of Ephesians. It’s the triumphant plea for those who read it. If he were making a speech this would be when the crowd rises to their feet shouting and clapping! But what does it say?

IT’S AN AMAZING REQUEST!

He asks us to pray to God. In fact, here is the expanded literal translation.

Ephesians 6:18; In your personal devotions, believe and pray in tongues continually for specific objects of necessity. And by praying in tongues be on the watch, be alert, continually and unceasingly, for the specific objects of necessity for yourself until you get it. Do this on and in behalf of all the saints also.

There are two kinds of prayer. One kind with your understanding, one in the spirit (which, btw, you will not understand.)

1 Corinthians 14:15; What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

He is asking us to pray for the people and situations in our life “in the spirit.” A great way to do this is to picture the individual you are praying for in your mind, then pray in tongues for their lives. Folks, how many ways and how many times does God have to ask us to do this? If God, the maker of the universe, creator of the heavens and the Father of Jesus Christ asked you to call someone, or make a sandwich for your sweetie or anything. Would you do it? You just heard from the “BIG GUY” himself. Are you humble enough in your heart, to do what He asks?

This reminds me of Naaman;

2 Kings 5:1; Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, [but he was] a leper.

Long story short; Naaman came to Elisha for a healing. Elisha wouldn’t come down out of the house but sent him to dip in the Jordan 7 times. Here was Naaman’s reaction to this instruction.

2 Kings 5:11-12a; But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. [Are] not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?

He was ticked. He was such an important guy, he felt he deserved better treatment from the man of God. A little song and dance routine perhaps. But, then to be told to dip in the Jordan! Of all places, that was the mudiest river in all the land! Yuck! But wait a minute–urch–do you think he liked living with the incapacitating disease of leprosy more? What were his choices? Was it smart to be so picky or prideful? Just because he didn’t like the instruction.

I’ve talked with many Christians who don’t know how, or who’ve been wrongly taught that we shouldn’t speak in tongues. Heck, that’s how I grew up! Yet God commands us to pray in the spirit over and over in the Word. This is our opportunity to do what He asks. How do we do it? See below for instructions.

Here’s how Naaman went on to handle things.

2 Kings 5:12b-14; So he turned and went away in a rage. (Might I add, he still had leprosy at this point. We do not get deliverance, healing, miracles, promises until we do our part of the procedure.)

And his servants came near, (a smart fellah here) and spake unto him, and said, My father, [if] the prophet had bid thee [do some] great thing, wouldest thou not have done [it]? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Naaman got his miracle! He put his pride and error of wrong doctrine aside and believed that he heard from God almighty.

Do you need a miracle in this day and age? Do you want to see God’s hand of power take hold of the problems in your life and set you free of them?

What are you waiting for?

Click here to learn how to speak in tongues and all the scriptures showing you how.

Ephesians 6:17; And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

John 17:17; Sanctify them through thy truth:

thy word is truth.

Do you remember us going over Ephesians 6:10 last week?

Ephesians 6:10; Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

“Finally” is a Figure of speech called a symperasma; or, concluding summary. Ephesians 6:10-17 is the summary of Ephesians, now I want you to look at the verses from 10-17 with me. Look for the connections. Remember there were no verses separations or punctuation in the original texts. Paul wrote this as a letter and meant it to be a continued thought.

Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armour of God…

that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. Wherefore (on account of this) take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,

…..which is the word of God:

“Word” in that last phrase is the Greek word Rehma. Rehma is the spoken or written word “of God”. God’s words are the right words at the right time. They are healing, bottle rockets of deliverance for our heart, mind and soul. Do you see how ALL of the verses between 10-17 are “the Word of God?” There are so many ands connections and explanations of the connections that we could easily get lost in what Paul is really trying to say. I’ve always been taught that the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Folks, how could it be? The pneuma or the spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. Prior to that it was impossible for Gentiles, non-children of God, to obtain it! On the day of Pentecost we were all given the opportunity to be born again, or made whole with salvation. But the “Word”, or rhema, “of God” is every word that God utters. That pre-dates holy spirit’s availability to mankind and the day of Pentecost. Isn’t this incredibly freeing!

Each “and” details to us our “armour of God” which includes;

Truth,

Right believing,

The good news of peace,

Our believing,

Our salvation

And the holy spirit, or pneuma that God put in us the day we are born again.

All of this in summary and conclusion is our armour and the Word (rehma) of God. For instance: when I ask God how to pray for a friend of mine, and he tells me, that is rehma. Each of the nine manifestations of the holy spirit involve God’s words uttered into our life. Isn’t this beautiful folks!

I realize that you are reading this in a moment of time when it has taken thousands of hours of research on mine and many others to come to this understanding. I also understand that it’s going to take more than one read to see it all. But I also pray that we study to show ourselves approved and rightly divide the Word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15; Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

John 8:32; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

God bless you today and everyday, as you search and know the truth of God’s magnified Word!